CONTACT Art Project Space

CONTACT Art Project Space, a new experimental center offering artist residencies, has opened in Rome. It is directed by the eclectic Marco Contini, founder and director of the publishing house Kappabit and the record label Folderol.

The results of Sebastian Ziegler’s residency are currently on display in the exhibition “Command to Freedom”. During the residency, he produced site-specific works and continued to create new pieces, which he will present at the closing event on Monday, 20 April. This will be an opportunity to observe how the work has transformed over time within the exhibition space itself.

The exhibition perfectly embodies the gallery’s mission: a celebration of change and ongoing research, as evidenced by the artist’s own work, who states:

Change—and in particular the need to change—is one of the central themes of the exhibition. It may seem paradoxical to speak of freedom as a command: how can freedom exist where there is an order?

I observe crustaceans and their exoskeletons, which mutate in order to grow. A structure gives form, but at what point does a structure no longer support and begin to constrain? When does the pressure from within force us to abandon what is known and safe in order to become vulnerable?

If this moment is ignored, there is a risk of exploding. But there is also the possibility of transformation and the space for a quiet moment of contemplation. Forms can make a leap toward unknown configurations.

I construct geometric wooden forms that collapse in on themselves; inside them, I insert latex balloons, observing where the balance lies. (Sebastian Ziegler)